In-depth with our sports seniors

Matthew Douglas: 'for fun we do it'

by: Derek Gibbons
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News

"Growing up, I would have to say that my fondest memories include getting belittled by my older, more athletic brother at any sport that involved moving quickly," said senior, Matt Douglas.

Born in Whitehall, NY, a small town in upstate New York, Matt Douglas didn't let his brothers athleticism stop him from playing the sports he loved. Growing up, he played baseball, basketball, and golf, but only one sport would stick out to him.

"I would have to say that I was probably the best at baseball," Douglas said, "but [I] never had a great interest in playing. Golf was always more fun."

Throughout his childhood, his parents were his biggest influences in life, and also his biggest supporters.

"My parents are easily my biggest influence," said Douglas. "They made me. They love me and they support me. I could not ask for anything more out of a set of parents."

Going into high school, Douglas was determined to be a star in athletics. After playing three years of basketball and baseball, he decided to call those sports quits and continue the sport he considered to be the most fun.

"I was number one on my high school golf team for three years," Douglas said, "and I played varsity baseball and basketball up until my senior year of high school, when I stopped playing because it had stopped being fun."

Coming out of high school, Douglas knew two things: one, that he wanted to have an oportunity to play golf a the college level, and two, he wanted to stay close enough to home to visit his girlfriend a lot, which he still dates to this day.

It's hard for Douglas to choose only one memory here at the College, as he has so many fond memories of his friends and teammates.

"I have so many fond memories of this college that it's unreal," said Douglas. "I could go on and on telling stories about my four years here, but I think those people who would care to read this article probably partook in quite a few of those memories. If I had to pick one particular memory that I will never forget, it would have to be doing Karaoke in Cape Cod while I was there for the NEIGA tournament. Singing 'Don't Stop Believin' with a teammate, a waitress, and four golfers from Rhode Island College while the rest of my team watched definitely stands up there."

Douglas had one goal, and one goal only, when coming to the College.

"The only goal I had coming into MCLA was to play in a lot of golf tournaments and have a good time along the way," Douglas said. "The way that this team has improved from my freshmen year is astonishing and I will always be proud to have been a part of that."

Believed to get a lot of harrassment out of who his role models are, Douglas's role models include his Coach David Bond and his boss at home Ron Slusarzyk.

"'I'm going to get a lot of harassment for this, but I will lay it out there anyway," said Douglas. "I have two role models at this point in my life. One is my golf coach David Bond. (The other) is my boss and the owner of the golf course that I play at in NY, Ron Slusarczyk. While I do admit that I give these two a ton of grief, I also have a tremendous level of respect for the type of individuals they are. I may not be trying to model my life after theirs, but I do aspire to one day be the quality of human being that in my opinion these two are."

If Douglas were to tell freshmen to listen to one person, it would be Mike Callahan.

"Listen to Mike Callahan," Douglas said. "He is, at least in my mind, the mayor of this college."

On a serious note, Doulgas does tell freshman to be smart and to keep up with their studies, but also to get involved in extracurricular activites.

"I would insist that they go to class and keep up on their studies," said Douglas, "which frees up lots of time for any "extracurricular" activity they wish to pursue. Go out, make friends, have fun -this is the best four years of your life."

Outside of golf, Douglas enjoys fishing, hunting, and spending time with his girlfriend. These activities pretty much comsume his life, but they keep him happy.

After college, Douglas plans on being "painfully" employed in some capacity or another, and will use his work as his "resting up from being at MCLA for four years." Not only does he plan on getting job, but he also has plans to break the scoring record at the mini golf course at The Range on Curran Highway in North Adams.

Before Doulgas departs , he leaves this important message to his golf teammates.

"To the MCLA golf team seniors and my coach, thank you for being great teammates and friends. To the MCLA golf team underclassmen, and this is the most important part of my senior profile, have fun out there and shoot some good numbers… but always, always remember the most important lesson I've learned about MCLA Golf-'for fun we do it'!"